Arjuna Awards 2025: Full List of 17 Sportspersons Honoured Across Disciplines

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the Arjuna Award recipients for 2025, with 17 sportspersons from a wide range of disciplines set to receive the prestigious national sports honour. The list includes athletes from athletics, badminton, boxing, chess, deaf shooting, hockey, kabaddi, para sports, rowing and shooting. Along with the 17 regular Arjuna Award winners, veteran footballer I. Arumainayagam has been selected for the Arjuna Award (Lifetime), which recognises his contribution to Indian sport over a long career.

The 2025 list brings together established international athletes as well as sportspersons from disciplines that do not always receive as much attention in the national spotlight. The selection also includes para athletes, a deaf shooter and a rowing athlete, making the list one that covers a broad range of Indian sport.

Full List of Arjuna Award Winners 2025

The 17 Arjuna Award winners for 2025 are Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammed Ajmal V., Priyanka Goswami, Treesa Jolly, Gayatri Gopichand, Narender Berwal, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Divya Deshmukh, Dhanush Srikanth, Lalremsiami, Rajkumar Pal, Surjeet, Pooja, Rudransh Khandelwal, Ekta Bhyan, Arvind Singh and Akhil Sheoran. The Ministry’s official information lists each sportsperson along with their respective discipline.

Athletics: Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammed Ajmal V. and Priyanka Goswami have been selected from athletics. Badminton: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand have received the honour. Boxing: Narender Berwal is the recipient. Chess: Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh have been selected. Deaf Shooting: Dhanush Srikanth has been named. Hockey: Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal have been chosen. Kabaddi: Surjeet and Pooja have received the award. Para Sports: Rudransh Khandelwal in para shooting and Ekta Bhyan in para athletics have been selected. Rowing: Arvind Singh has been honoured, while Shooting: Akhil Sheoran completes the list.

Tejaswin Shankar Among the Athletics Awardees

Tejaswin Shankar is one of the best-known names on the 2025 Arjuna Award list. The high jumper has represented India at major international competitions and has been one of the country’s leading athletes in his event. His inclusion gives athletics three places on the list this year, with Muhammed Ajmal V. and Priyanka Goswami also receiving the award.

Priyanka Goswami has represented India in race walking and has competed at major international events. Muhammed Ajmal V., meanwhile, is also part of the athletics group selected for the honour. Together, the three names show the range of events represented in Indian athletics, from high jump to track running and race walking.

The athletics category is therefore one of the larger groups in the 2025 Arjuna Awards. The selection of three athletes also adds variety to a list that includes several team sports and indoor disciplines.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Get Arjuna Award

Badminton has two recipients in the 2025 Arjuna Awards, with Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand receiving the honour. Both players have represented India in international badminton and have become familiar names in the country’s doubles setup.

Treesa Jolly has been part of India’s women’s doubles team and has played at major international events. Gayatri Gopichand, the daughter of former Indian badminton player and coach Pullela Gopichand, has also built her career in women’s doubles. Their selection places two badminton players together in this year’s list.

The two names are part of a wider group of athletes from newer generations of Indian badminton players who have represented the country in international competitions. Their inclusion also highlights the role of doubles badminton alongside the more commonly followed singles events.

Narender Berwal Named From Boxing

Narender Berwal is the lone boxing name among the 17 Arjuna Award recipients for 2025. His selection adds another combat sport athlete to this year’s list and reflects the inclusion of boxing alongside several Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines.

Boxing has been a regular part of India’s Arjuna Award lists over the years, and Narender joins previous Indian boxers who have received the country’s major sports honours. His name stands alongside athletes from athletics, badminton and chess in the 2025 award list.

The 2025 list therefore continues to include boxing as one of the Indian sports represented at the national award level, with Narender being the selected recipient this year.

Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh Represent Chess

Chess has two recipients in the 2025 Arjuna Awards, with Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh being selected for the honour. Both players have represented India on the international chess stage and come from different generations of Indian chess.

Vidit Gujrathi is one of India’s most experienced modern chess players and has represented the country in major international events, including the Chess Olympiad. Divya Deshmukh is one of the younger names on the list and has risen through the international chess circuit in recent years. Their selections give chess two places among the 17 award winners.

Chess has become one of India’s most successful individual sports in recent years, with several Indian players competing at the highest level. The inclusion of both Vidit and Divya adds another chapter to that record in the National Sports Awards.

Dhanush Srikanth Honoured in Deaf Shooting

Dhanush Srikanth has been selected for the Arjuna Award in deaf shooting. His inclusion is one of the distinctive features of the 2025 list because deaf shooting is separately identified in the official award list.

The honour gives representation to athletes competing in categories for players with hearing disabilities. Dhanush has represented India in international deaf shooting competitions and becomes one of the sportspersons recognised through this year’s awards.

His selection also means the Arjuna Award list covers a wider section of Indian sport, with para sports and deaf shooting appearing alongside mainstream Olympic disciplines.

Hockey Has Two Arjuna Award Winners

Indian hockey has two names among the 2025 Arjuna Award recipients: Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal. Both have represented India at the international level and have been part of the country’s hockey teams.

Lalremsiami’s selection has an additional distinction. She has been reported as the first sportsperson from Mizoram to receive the Arjuna Award. The hockey player has represented the Indian women’s team at the international level and has been part of India’s major campaigns.

Rajkumar Pal has also been an important name in Indian men’s hockey. His selection places two hockey players on this year’s list and continues the sport’s strong presence among the National Sports Award recipients.

Hockey has regularly featured among India’s Arjuna Award winners, and the 2025 list once again includes players from both the men’s and women’s sides.

Surjeet and Pooja Receive Arjuna Award for Kabaddi

Kabaddi has two award recipients in the 2025 list, with Surjeet and Pooja being selected for the Arjuna Award. Their inclusion gives the traditional Indian sport two places among the 17 winners.

Surjeet has been one of the recognised names in Indian kabaddi, having represented the country and played at a high level in domestic and international competitions. Pooja has also represented India in women’s kabaddi, adding a women’s player to the list from the sport.

The two selections underline the continued presence of kabaddi in India’s national sports awards. Along with hockey and badminton, kabaddi is one of the team sports with multiple recipients in the 2025 Arjuna Award list.

Rudransh Khandelwal and Ekta Bhyan Represent Para Sports

The 2025 Arjuna Award list also includes two para athletes. Rudransh Khandelwal has been selected in para shooting, while Ekta Bhyan has been chosen in para athletics.

Their inclusion ensures that para sports have representation across two different disciplines. Para shooting involves precision-based shooting events, while para athletics includes track and field events for athletes with different physical disabilities.

The Ministry’s award list separately identifies Rudransh Khandelwal as a para-shooting athlete and Ekta Bhyan as a para-athletics athlete.

Both names add to the growing list of Indian para athletes receiving national sports awards. Their selection also shows that the Arjuna Awards cover athletes competing across different sporting categories and formats.

Arvind Singh Named in Rowing

Arvind Singh is the only recipient from rowing among the 17 Arjuna Award winners in 2025. He has represented India in international rowing competitions and has been part of the country’s rowing team at major events.

Rowing requires a high level of fitness, coordination and teamwork, especially in doubles and team events. Arvind’s selection puts the sport alongside athletics, shooting, chess, hockey, kabaddi and badminton in this year’s awards.

Although rowing has fewer names in the national spotlight compared with cricket, hockey or badminton, Indian rowers have continued to compete at major international events. Arvind’s Arjuna Award adds to that history.

Akhil Sheoran Honoured in Shooting

Akhil Sheoran has been selected for the Arjuna Award in shooting. India has a long record of success in shooting at the international level, and Sheoran is the only athlete from the discipline in the 2025 regular Arjuna Award list.

Shooting has produced several Indian Olympic and world-level athletes over the years, and the sport remains an important part of India’s international sports programme. Sheoran’s selection puts him among the group of athletes recognised for their performances during the award period.

The separate inclusion of Dhanush Srikanth in deaf shooting also means that shooting-related events have two names connected to this year’s wider list, although they are recognised under different categories.

I. Arumainayagam Gets Arjuna Award for Lifetime Achievement

Along with the 17 regular Arjuna Award winners, veteran footballer I. Arumainayagam has been selected for the Arjuna Award (Lifetime). This category is meant for sportspersons who have made a long contribution to sport and have continued to contribute after their active playing careers.

Arumainayagam is a former Indian footballer and a member of India’s gold-medal-winning team at the 1962 Asian Games. He represented India internationally and was also associated with Mohun Bagan during his club career. According to reports, he played 18 international matches for India and scored three goals. He also helped Mohun Bagan win several domestic trophies during his time with the club.

His selection adds a link between the present generation of Indian athletes and an important period in the country’s football history. The Lifetime Arjuna Award recognises his contribution over a long period and places his name separately from the 17 athletes receiving the regular Arjuna Award.

What Is the Arjuna Award?

The Arjuna Award is one of India’s major national sports awards. According to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, it is given for consistent outstanding performance in sports and games. The award process also takes into account achievements at the international level along with factors such as leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.

For the 2025 awards, the Ministry’s guidelines stated that achievements from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2024, would be considered for the regular Arjuna Award. The selection process includes scrutiny of applications, verification of sporting achievements and assessment by a selection committee.

The awards cover athletes from a large number of Olympic, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and recognised international sports. That is why the final list can include athletes from very different fields, from athletics and boxing to rowing, chess and para sports.

No Khel Ratna Awardee in the 2025 List

The National Sports Awards 2025 announcement also stood out because no sportsperson was selected for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award this year. As a result, the Arjuna Awards received much of the attention following the announcement of the 2025 list.

The 17 Arjuna Award recipients represent a broad group of athletes, while I. Arumainayagam has been selected in the Lifetime category. The wider National Sports Awards list also includes five Dronacharya Award recipients and the Army Paralympic Node, Pune, as the recipient of the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar.

With 17 regular recipients and one Lifetime Award recipient, the 2025 Arjuna Awards list covers some of the country’s most prominent names across multiple sports and continues the annual tradition of recognising Indian sportspersons for their international performances and long contribution to the sporting world.